Graffham Common

Selham railway station served the village of Selham in the county of West Sussex in England. The station was out in mostly open fields, although a public house was located nearby. The station was on the Pulborough to Midhurst line which was originally part of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway. The station opened after the line (which opened in 1866) on 1 July 1872. The station was closed to passenger services in 1955, but freight was still carried up to May 1963, before the station was closed completely. The line through the station remained open for another year serving Midhurst. The station building is now a private home.

Selham is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Graffham, in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies south of the A272 road 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Midhurst. It is mainly in the parish of Graffham, but partly in that of Lodsworth to the north. In 1931 the parish had a population of 65.

The River Lod is a short river draining about 52 km2 (20 sq mi) of north west Sussex. The main source is on the Greensand Ridge at Marley Heights near Haslemere, about 140 metres (460 ft) above sea level. From here it flows west past Lynchmere, then south to Furnace Pond, where iron cannon were cast during the English Civil War. It then turns south east, flowing south of Fernhurst to Lickfold and Lurgashall where it formerly powered Lurgashall Mill, now moved to the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum. From Mill Farm it heads south between high banks, which it only overflows after the heaviest of rainfalls, passing between the hills of Lodsworth and River to Halfway Bridge on the A272 road then joining the River Rother at Lods Bridge.

Graffham is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England, situated on the northern escarpment of the South Downs within the South Downs National Park. The civil parish is made up of the village of Graffham, part of the hamlet of Selham, and South Ambersham. It forms part of the Bury Ward for the purposes of electing a Councillor to Chichester District Council.

South Ambersham is a hamlet and former civil parish, now in the parish of Graffham, in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies 0.7 miles (1.2 km) south of the A272 road and 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Midhurst. Until 1844 South Ambersham was a detached part of Hampshire and was a tithing of the parish of Steep, in 1844 it became a separate civil parish, until 1972 when it was abolished and merged with Graffham. In 1961 the parish had a population of 117.

Lavington Common is a 31.2-hectare (77-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-west of Petworth in West Sussex. It is a National Trust property.This site has wet and dry heath, acid grassland and woodland. It has a rich community of invertebrates, especially spiders. Common trees in the woods are silver birch, downy birch and oak, while the shrub layer is dominated by bracken and bramble.

Fernhurst is an electoral division of West Sussex in the United Kingdom, and returns one member to sit on West Sussex County Council.

Sussex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England was designated in 1966. The designation was revoked in March 2010, together with the neighbouring East Hampshire AONB, upon the establishment of the South Downs National Park.The area of the AONB was largely the same as the portion of the National Park within East and West Sussex, containing the South Downs as well as part of The Weald.In the latter years of the AONB, the management of the two AONBs of Sussex Downs and East Hampshire was combined under the South Downs Joint Committee, taking responsibility for conservation within the two areas in anticipation of the National Park.

Ambersham Common is a 141.6-hectare (350-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-east of Midhurst in West Sussex. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2.This site is mainly heathland with a wide range of invertebrates, including three nationally rare species. There are also areas of bog and acid carr. It has a diverse variety of bird species, including some which are rare, such as nightjars, woodlarks and Dartford warblers.Roads and footpaths cross the common.

Lodsworth is a small village, ecclesiastical parish and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It is situated between Midhurst and Petworth, half a mile north of the A272 road. It lies within the South Downs National Park, just to the north of the valley of the River Rother; a tributary stream the River Lod runs close to the east end of the village. The north end of the village is known as Smithbrook. The parish includes the settlements of Bexleyhill and Lickfold.

East Lavington, formerly Woolavington, is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England. It is located six kilometres (4 miles) south of Petworth, west of the A285 road. West Lavington was formerly an exclave of Woolavington.The parish has a land area of 797 hectares (1968 acres). In the 2001 census 357 people lived in 87 households, of whom 129 were economically active. It includes the settlement of Upper Norwood. The parish is dominated by Seaford College, a private school which owns 400 acres (1.6 km2). The main school building, previously Lavington Park country house, is a Grade II* listed building. St Peter's parish church, also Grade II* listed, has become the school chapel. In July 1553, John Fowler, a courtier of Edward VI, was made Keeper of the Great Park of Petworth or "Woolavington" in Sussex. Mary I appointed another courtier, William Goring, as keeper. An Elizabethan manor house was built by Giles Garton, at "Woolavington" in 1587. The old house at Lavington Park is long demolished, but the 1587 building contract described how the chimneys, windows, and corner quoins should be made "verie artyficiallie and conninglie".

The Queen Elizabeth Oak is a large sessile oak tree in Cowdray Park near the village of Lodsworth in the Western Weald, West Sussex, England. It lies within the South Downs National Park. It has a girth of 12.5–12.8 metres (41–42 ft), and is about 800–1,000 years old. According to this estimate it began to grow in the 11th or 12th century AD. In June 2002, The Tree Council designated the Queen Elizabeth Oak, one of fifty Great British Trees, in recognition of its place in the national heritage. According to the Woodland Trust, the tree is the third largest sessile oak tree to be recorded in the United Kingdom after the Pontfadog Oak in Wales and the Marton Oak in Cheshire, although this tree is now fragmented.According to legend, Queen Elizabeth I stood with an arrow ready in her bow waiting for a stag to be driven within range for her to shoot it, although she was unsuccessful.